LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Siniša Stojanović, Milica Ristić, Srboljub Đorđević, Srboljub Dimitrijević

DOI Number
10.22190/FUTLTE170424001S
First page
001
Last page
010

Abstract


The main objective of this research was to investigate the leisure time activities of elementary school children. This paper investigates the way in which these activities are grouped and their expression. In addition to this, it examined the existence of any difference between these grouped activities in relation to respondents’ gender and school achievements, as well as to their relationship with the children's opinion of their parents’ interest in how they spend their leisure time. For this purpose an instrument has been designed consisting of 22 items of Likert-type (α = .69) which was used for a sample of 246 students of both genders (121 male and 125 female) from 4th and 5th grade (96 from 4th and 150 from 5th grade) from elementary schools in Vranje and Nis. Through factor analysis based on The Guttman-Kaiser Criterion and with the analysis of loadings of certain items, 5 factors have been identified and named as follows: organized extracurricular activities, home-related activities, computer-related activities, pastime, reality shows watching. The discovered differences in the expression of these groups of activities proved to be statistically significant. The results of t-test indicated that girls get more involved in activities at home, while boys rest more. The ANOVA results showed that there was the difference in the expression of activities done at home, as well as the organized extracurricular activities between students with different academic achievement. In the end, the results showed that as parents get less interested in the way their children spend their leisure time, more will their children get engaged in organized extracurricular activities, activities that are carried out at home, and watching sports, resting and using computers.


Keywords

leisure time, activities and interests, gender, success at school, parental interest

Full Text:

PDF

References


Anderson, R. C., Wilson, P. T., & Fielding, L. G. (1988). Growth in reading and how children spend their time outside of school. Reading Research Quarterly, 285-303.

Božović, R. R. (2010). Izazovi kulture. Sremski karlovci-Novi Sad: Izdavačka knjižarnica Zorana Stojanovića.

Hofferth, S. L., & Curtin, S. C. (2005). Leisure time activities in middle childhood. In What Do Children Need to Flourish? (pp. 95-110). Springer US.

Hofferth, S. L., & Sandberg, J. F. (2001). How American children spend their time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(2), 295-308.

Iljišin, V. (2003): Mediji uslobodnom vremenu djece i komunikacija o medijima. Medijska istraživanja, 2, 9-34.

Irby, I., Tolman, J. (2002). Rethinking Leisure Time: Expanding Opportunities for Young People and Communities. In Washington, DC: The Forum for Youth Investment.

Koković, D. (2013). Slobodno vreme i masovna kultura. In Budimir-Ninković, G. (Ed.) Pedagogijja slobodnog vremena – Hrestomatija. Jagodina: Fakultet pedagoških nauka.

Круљ, С. Р. Стојановић, С. и Круљ-Драшковић, J. (2010). Основи педагогије са примењеном дидактиком. Ниш: Факултет спорта и физичког васпитања.

Lupu, D., Norel, M., & Laurenţiu, A. R. (2013). What the Preschool Children Prefer: Computer, TV or Dynamic, Outdoor Activities?!. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 82, 7-11.

Maksić, S., Tenjović, L. (2008): Povezanost interesovanja mladih i verbalna fluentnost kod učenika osnovne škole. Psihologija, 41(3), 311-325.

Mužić,V. (1986). Metodologija pedagoškog istraživanja. Sarajevo: “Svjetlost”,OOUR Zavod za udzbenike i nastavna sredstva.

Pantić, D. (1980): Priroda interesovanja. Beograd: Istraživačko izdavački centar SSO, Institut društvenih nauka, Centar za politikološka istraživanja i javno mnenje.

Potkonjak, N., i Šimleša, P. (Ur.). (1989). Pedagoška enciklopedija. Kn. 2. M-Ž. Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva.

Posner, J. K., & Vandell, D. L. (1999). After-school activities and the development of low-income urban children: a longitudinal study. Developmental psychology, 35(3), 868-879.

Sener, I. N., Copperman, R. B., Pendyala, R. M., & Bhat, C. R. (2008). An analysis of children’s leisure activity engagement: examining the day of week, location, physical activity level, and fixity dimensions. Transportation, 35(5), 673-696.

Stepanović, I., Videnović, М., Plut, D., (2009): Obrasci ponašanja mladih tokom slobodnog remena. Sociologija, 3(38), 247-261.

Untaru, E. N., Albu, R. G., & Luca, M. R. (2014). Parents and their Involvement in Children’s Leisure Activities. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Series VII: Social Sciences and Law, 2, 63-72.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FUTLTE170424001S

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN 2560 – 4600 (Print)
ISSN 2560 – 4619 (Online)